The present invention is directed to a radio transceiver system architecture useful in communication devices operating in a wireless local area network (WLAN) and/or a wireless personal area network (WPAN). The term WLAN is used to refer to a class of wireless communication technology that operates at a distance up to 100 meters, and WPAN is commonly used to refer to a class of wireless communication technology that operates up to a distance of 10 meters. For simplicity, when used herein, the term WLAN is meant to encompass WLAN as well as WPAN technologies, and any other shorter-range wireless communication technology, particularly, but not limited to, those that do not require a license for operation by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States and other similar unlicensed bands outside of the U.S.
Generally, the unlicensed bands are at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The 5 GHz unlicensed band consists of band segments that are not contiguous, whereas the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band is a single contiguous frequency band. As shown in the chart below, certain applications are served in particular unlicensed bands, depending on the application. Moreover, certain wireless communication technologies are used in the various bands.
Conventional practice is to design a radio transceiver targeted to the point solutions they are to be used in. For example, a radio transceiver to be used in a device that operates using the Bluetooth™ communication protocol is sized and customized to the Bluetooth protocol. Generally the same can be said for radio transceivers designed for use in devices that operate using the IEEE 802.11 communication protocol. However, there is a trend in which many applications of WLANs require that a communication device operate multiple communication protocol technologies, or operate multiple instances of the same communication protocol technology. For example, a computer laptop device may operate both 802.11 and Bluetooth.
MaxISMWirelessPrimaryDataRangeBandTechnologyMarketsRate(feet)(GHz)Modulation802.11/DSEnterprise, 21502.4DS/QPSKSchoolMbps802.11/FHEnterprise, 21502.4FH/FSKSchoolMbps802.11bEnterprise, 111502.4DS/CCKSchool, PublicMbpsAccess802.11aEnterprise, 54755OFDM/School, PublicMbpsQAM/PSKAccessOpenAirEnterprise, 1.65002.4FHSchoolMbpsHiperLAN1Enterprise, 241505OFDMSchool, PublicMbpsAccessHiperLAN2Enterprise, 54755OFDM/School, PublicMbpsQAM/PSKAccessBluetoothWireless cable,721302.4FH/FSKHandsets,kbpsHandHeldsHomeRFHome 1.61502.4FH/FSKMbpsHomeRFWBHome, School 101502.4FH/FSKMbps
Consequently, it is desirable to provide a radio transceiver system architecture that can be used for one or more communication protocol technologies in a flexible and scalable manner.